GOES-W Scan Strategy Testing

December 9, 2019

 3 minute read

On both Tuesday, December 10 from 1800z to 2000z and Wednesday, December 11 from 1800z to 2000z, NESDIS will conduct a scanning test on GOES-W (GOES-17) to measure different Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) scan strategies that mitigate the Loop Heat Pipe (LHP) cooling anomaly.

What happens during the test?

During the scanning test, Full Disk imagery will be produced every fifteen minutes for a total of eight images.  The timestamps of these images will be 1805z, 1820z, 1835z, 1850z, 1905z, 1920z, 1935z, and 1950z. In addition to the Full Disk imagery, there will also be Alaska sector and Hawaii sector imagery, timestamped the same as the Full Disk imagery (since they are extracted from the Full Disk scan).

During this test, there will be no West CONUS (i.e. PACUS) imagery produced by GOES-W. Forecasters using AWIPS from a site receiving data via the SBN need to pull up the Full Disk imagery from the Satellite menu to see imagery during this two-hour period. Also, note that Full Disk imagery distributed over the SBN has always been degraded to 6km resolution due to bandwidth restrictions, and is not the full resolution that CONUS forecasters are accustomed to seeing while using the West CONUS domain.

How does this impact the Mesoscale sector?

There will be only one Mesoscale sector, MESO1,during this time period.  It will produce one full resolution image every minute, as usual. That sector will not be requestable to move through the Mesoscale Request Process during the test, and will remain in its usual default position centered over the western United States.  The second Mesoscale sector, MESO2, will not be produced during this test.

Regarding the GOES-W derived products that are available via AWIPS Data Delivery, products will be produced for both the Full Disk and single Mesoscale sector; however, they may be of degraded quality during the test and for up to 30 minutes after the test is complete.  This is a total time of 2.5 hours that they will be affected, from 1800z to 2030z, during each day of the test.

What about the GLM sensor?

The GLM sensor on GOES-W will operate as normal and is not affected by this test. Space weather sensors will also be unaffected.

At the conclusion of this test each day at 2000z, GOES-W will return to its usual operating mode of ten minute Full Disk imagery, five minute West CONUS imagery, and two one minute Mesoscale sectors.

What happens if there is a Critical Weather Day?

This test will be postponed in the event of Critical Weather Day and slip one business day at a time until it does not conflict with Critical Weather Day.  In the case this occurs, the TOWR-S Team will keep you updated on the new schedule. 

Questions?

If you have any questions about what to expect during this test, the fastest way to contact us is through NWS Chat by joining the “towr-s” group.